There seems to be a little confusion exactly how to market Dead Man Down, the new film by Danish director Niels Arden Oplev that stars Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace. Oplev and Rapace had their breakthroughs with the Swedish version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and some of the Dead Man Down spots have presented the film as being similar in tone. Others, like the newly-released red band trailer, are clearly aimed at the action junkie crowd.
It's important to remember that this is a WWE Studios co-production, heavily hyped on their weekly broadcasts, so this trailer may be designed mostly for them. Whatever the case, it looks like possibly the first solid thriller of the year, and has an incredible cast. Rapace plays a woman bent on revenge against the crimelord (Terrence Howard) who disfigured her. To do so she blackmails a hitman (Farrell) to do her dirty work. As the footage shows, things get sexy, bloody, and fiery pretty quick.
The film also stars Dominic Cooper, the great Isabelle Huppert, and WWE superstar Wade Barrett, so there's a lot to look forward to here. Fortunately we won't have to wait long, as Dead Man Down hits theaters this Friday.
